This invention relates to an apparatus and method for installing elevator components with a hoistway that utilizes a unique hoist tool and pulley system.
Elevators are used to transport passengers and cargo between levels in buildings. An elevator typically includes a cab that is movable along guide rails that are mounted within a hoistway. A motor and pulley arrangement, known as the machine, is mounted near the top of the hoistway, and drives a cable to move the elevator cab upwardly or downwardly in combination with a counterweight. Historically, the machine is mounted in a machine room above the hoistway. Before the cab can be installed in the hoistway, the machine components and the guide rails must be installed. Typically, the machine is supported on a base that must be lifted from a pit area at the bottom of the hoistway to an upper mounting location in the machine room.
The guide rails also have to be installed within the hoistway before the cab can be installed and must be lifted from the pit to the upper areas of the hoistway. Usually, the machine components and guide rails are assembled in the pit area and lifted with a hoist tool. Once the components are in place fasteners or other mounting methods are used to secure the components in place. The hoist tool is typically left in or near the machine room, in case it ever becomes necessary to move the machine back downwardly for replacement or repair. This is undesirable because additional space is required for the hoist tool. Additionally, a worker must be positioned within the hoistway to guide the components and rails to the proper locations, which is also undesirable.
This invention includes an improved hoisting method that utilizes an improved hoist tool and pulley assembly to install the machine components and guide rails within the hoistway without the need for a worker to be positioned within the hoistway and without the need for a separate machine room above the hoistway. Further, the improved hoisting method provides a hoist tool that allows rapid coupling and decoupling of the machine from the corresponding mounts for service and repair.
In general terms, this invention is an elevator system having a unique installation arrangement that facilitates assembling and repairing components of the system while also eliminating the need for a separate machine room. An elevator system designed according to this invention includes a hoistway having a longitudinal length, a lateral width, and a lateral depth. The longitudinal length extends from a pit area to an upper hoistway area. A machine base extends through the lateral depth. A rail assembly extends along the longitudinal length of the hoistway to guide an elevator cab upwardly and downwardly within the hoistway. A support plate is mounted between the machine base and the rail assembly. A hoist tool is mounted within the hoistway near the upper hoistway area for lifting the machine base and rail assembly upwardly through the hoistway from the pit area to a mounting location near the top of the hoistway.
In a disclosed embodiment, the hoist tool includes a first set of pulleys mounted to the hoist tool and a second set of pulleys mounted to the support plate. A hoist machine is interconnected to the first and second sets of pulleys via a cable wherein the hoist machine lifts the machine base and a guide rail assembly upwardly through the hoistway from the pit area to an upper position within the hoistway. The pulleys in the first set of pulleys are separated from each other by a greater distance than the distance between the pulleys of the second set. This allows the second set of pulleys to be positioned between the first set of pulleys when the machine base is lifted to a maximum installation height to automatically align the machine base and rail assembly within the hoistway.
A method for lifting a machine base and guide rail assembly through a hoistway to a mount location in an elevator assembly includes the following steps. A hoist tool is mounted adjacent to an upper end of a hoistway and has a first set of pulleys. A plate is mounted between the machine base and the guide rail assembly with a second set of pulleys. A cable is threaded around the first and second sets of pulleys. The cable is connected to a hoist machine and a hoist tool is used to lift the machine base and guide rail assembly through the hoistway from a pit area to a mount location near the upper end of the hoistway.
The various features and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the currently preferred embodiment. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows.